Sri Chinmoy

When it came to finding pathways to spiritual enlightenment, the guru Sri Chinmoy had few equals. Chinmoy, who has died aged 76, spread his message of world peace through a mixture of meditative art, performance and extreme sport. Few gurus would travel to New Jersey's Teterboro airport and lift six light aircraft, one after another, to "inspire humanity, because when we inspire humanity we become good citizens of the world". Even fewer would swim the English channel, organise and run in 1,000-mile "ultra marathons", or hang "peace blossom" plaques on landmarks both natural and man-made, from the Statue of Liberty to Victoria Falls.

Chinmoy's teachings were a mixture of Hindu meditation, Vedantic yoga and Vaishnavism, which stresses belief in "the Supreme" the one transcendent force in the universe. He was unusual in giving equal importance to extreme physical activity, first long-distance running, and later heavy lifting, as a means of opening oneself to spiritual enlightenment. He also possessed a remarkable ability to win over doubters, particularly people of prominence, who inevitably succumbed to his message of peace.

It gave him a Zelig-like ability to attach their celebrity to his work, particularly when he was lifting them off the ground. During the past 20 years, he elevated everyone from Nelson Mandela to Muhammad Ali, figures as light as Yoko Ono or as heavy as sumo wrestlers, and, perhaps most amazingly, two New York congressman from opposing parties.

His most famous disciples were musicians, perhaps attracted by his output as composer and poet. They included the guitarist John McLaughlin, whose Mahavishnu Orchestra was one of the first and foremost jazz fusion bands. Its album titles came from Chinmoy's writings: Birds of Fire referred to his description of souls as "birds of fire winging the infinite". Other followers included Roberta Flack, Clarence Clemons from the E Street Band, and Carlos Santana, though he split with Chinmoy, calling him "vindictive".

But none of his disciples could match Ashrita Furman. His feats of endurance included going up and down Mount Fujiama on a pogo stick and riding a unicycle backwards for 53 miles.

Chinmoy was born Kumar Ghose in Shakpura, East Bengal, now Bangladesh, where his father was a banker. When he was 12 his parents died within months of each other, and he and his four younger siblings joined their two older brothers at an ashram in Pondicherry. He took up athletics, idolising the American Olympic champion Jesse Owens. Later, Carl Lewis, heir to Owens' sprint and long jump mastery, would become a friend.

In the mid-1960s Ghose emigrated to New York, working in the visa section of the Indian embassy. The next year he opened his first centre, in Jamaica, Queens. The timing was good: the hippies were taking hold and Indian music and philosophy (and Nehru jackets) were attracting everyone from the Beatles to the Beach Boys. His white-robed followers increased quickly, but he lived in the same modest house in Queens, near his first centre, for 40 years.

Chinmoy claimed to sleep only 90 minutes a night. He was a prolific writer, painter, and composer, producing works that fused philosophy and western popular culture, including plays and commentaries on classic Indian texts. He was also frequently accused of running a cult, and his peace blossoms were removed from the Statue of Liberty after such allegations. Accusations of sexual misconduct at his centres clashed with the early goal of celibacy in his teachings. But physicality was always central to his programme. When he became too old to run extreme distances, he took up power lifting, and used specially constructed leg springs to achieve large lifts.

A verse from his book My Flute (1971) could serve as an epitaph: "No mind, no form, I only exist; Now ceased all will and thought; The final end of Nature's dance, I am it whom I have sought."